


In  times of trouble

by Signe_chan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signe_chan/pseuds/Signe_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint finds out that Phil has been left to care for his niece and nephew and decides to lend a hand. It doesn’t go as smoothly as Clint might have liked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In  times of trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to trojie for beta reading and general cheerleading.

“Clint?”

“Yep.”

“Do you know where A.C. is?”

“With you? On the bus? Flying around the world destroying evil?”

“You do know that’s not what we do, right? Also, no, he’s not with us. He should be, you’re right, but he’s disappeared.”

“Like, into thin air?”

“No, like we put down in Toronto and he said he needed to deal with some things so we left him there and now he won’t answer his phone. I mean, I’ve got him on a domestic flight back to New York but…”

“No idea from there. You want me to track him down?”

“I think he might be ill. Gone to sleep it off at home and lick his wounds? Does that sound like him?”

“Yeah, kinda does. I’ll find him, kiddo. You just sit tight.”

“Please never call me that again. Phone when you know anything.”

“Will do.”

***

An hour later, a grocery bag with soup and some crappy action movie in his hand, Clint rang Phil’s doorbell. Someone started to scream. A young someone, if Clint wasn’t mistaken. Clint had visited Phil many, many times in the years he’d known him. He’d never once rung Phil’s door to that effect. He stepped back a little and waited until, finally, the door swung open.

The person who opened the door was definitely not Phil. To start with, he was about ten and if Phil had been de-aged then Clint would have been informed. Clint knew this because they had a procedure for that. They had a procedure for that because Phil read too many comic books and watched too many bad sci-fi movies and when he was drunk he liked to make up new emergency procedures for fun. 

“Who the hell are you?” the kid said, frowning up at Clint.

“I’m Clint. I’m looking for Phil?” Maybe he had the wrong apartment. Maybe he’d suffered some kind of episode walking up the stairs and ended up in the wrong place. He glanced up at the door. Right number. Maybe Phil had sub-let the place while he was on the bus? Clint thought Phil would have mentioned it is that was true but...

“Connor, come away from there.” Phil’s voice. This wasn’t the wrong place. The boy in the doorway shrugged and backed away, sauntering to make it look like leaving was entirely his own idea. He left the door open a crack though so Clint stepped in and looked around.

The place didn’t look like Phil’s place normally looked. Sure, there was Phil's TV and his couch but the place looked a mess and Phil would never allow something like that. The boy who’d been in the door was sauntering his way towards the couch where he’d obviously been for a while since it was littered with snack food wrappers and Clint hadn’t even known Phil stocked snack food in that volume.

And then Phil appeared in the kitchen doorway. He looked to be in about as good shape as the apartment and the source of the screaming was following him. A naked little girl, skinny as a rake and maybe four, her eyes screwed shut and her tiny fists clenched in anger. Clint looked at the girl, then back at Phil, and burst into laughter. Really, he couldn’t help it. He knew he shouldn’t but it was so funny.

“Yeah, laugh it up,” Phil growled, turning and going back into the kitchen. The girl followed, screaming, and Connor seemed to be ignoring them all. He’d turned the TV back on to cartoons.

Clint kicked the door shut, dropped his bag (he wouldn’t be needing that after all) and followed Phil back into the kitchen.

The little girl had thrown herself on the floor and seemed to be in the middle of a temper tantrum. Her tiny fists were beating the linoleum and her face was red and scrunched. Clint stepped over her, going to the counter where Phil was leaning. To a casual observer Phil probably looked pretty calm but Clint was an expert in Phil watching and he knew the way Phil was clutching the counter as he lent and what that meant.

“So,” Clint said. “You wanna tell me how you got two kids?”

“They’re my sister’s,” Phil growled. A real, genuine, ‘this mission has gone FUBAR and I hate everything’ growl. “I haven’t even spoken to my sister in years but apparently sometime while Connor was at school and Lacie was at kindergarten on Tuesday she packed everything she had in a suitcase and disappeared. Lacie’s father is unknown, Connor’s father is currently unable to care for him due to his being in prison for drug dealing. That left me as their only relative.”

“Darn,” Clint said, mindful of the little girl still screaming her lungs out on the carpet. “You didn’t just let them go to a foster home until they found your sister? I mean, I know I’m not the person to sing the praises of the foster system with my background but it’s come a long way since I ran off to join the circus.”

“I thought I could handle them,” Phil said, sounding vaguely insulted that he obviously couldn’t. “I didn’t think it would be this difficult. They said it’d only be for a few days.”

“I see you weren't quite right about that,” Clint said, gesturing at Lacie who was showing no signs of slowing down.

“Supernanny gave me no indication that would be this tough. All I tried to do was get her to wear clothes.”

“Very unreasonable of you,” Clint tutted. Something in Phil’s shoulders was loosening a little and Clint let himself relax a little too. He could have dealt with illness but, well, screaming kids were in his skill set too. Probably more his thing than Phil’s, anyway. He’d grown up around kids - he doubted Phil had even held a baby. He knew Phil was much older than his only sibling, it had probably been a lonely childhood. Still, he wouldn’t want to wound Phil’s pride. Better to offer than just presume he was wanted.

“I don’t suppose there’s anything I can help you out with?” he asked, glancing at Phil. Phil looked more relieved than Clint had ever seen him and that was saying something.

“Would you? I mean…I’m not sure what but…”

“There’s plenty to do,” Clint finished. “Look, you want me to go tidy up the living room and see what’s going on in there? You can say here and silently watch this one tantrum until she realizes it’s not going to help.”

“Please,” Phil said, gesturing at the door. Clint sighed and headed through. Connor apparently hadn’t moved while Clint had been talking to Phil - he was still laid out on the couch. Clint grabbed the trash can and went to sit down beside him, beginning to grab any wrappers in range and dump them in the bin. Connor didn’t even acknowledge him which wasn’t a good sign.

It didn’t take much, at this point, to work out that Phil’s sister wasn’t going to win any awards for parent of the year. She’d abandoned her kids and run off which was kind of not a good sign. He didn’t want to judge but…Lacie’s behaviour was almost understandable. She was a baby, of course she’d throw tantrums but this kid…there was something not right about this kid. Something almost too familiar.

“Hey,” he said, nudging Connor’s leg with his toe. “Can you pass me the trash over your side?”

“No,” Connor said, throwing the remote he’d been holding down in disgust. “Why do I always have to pick things up?”

“Well, you kind of made the mess, kid,” Clint said with a shrug. Connor scowled at him.

“I don’t even want to live here,” he said, as though he expected Clint to be upset by that. “I hate this stupid place and I hate my stupid Uncle and I hate Mum and I hate Lacie and I really hate you.”

“That’s alright,” Clint said, agreeably. “But you still made the mess and I’m still gonna need you to help me clean it up. I’ll help you, alright, but you’ve gotta help me too?”

“I’m not going to do anything,” Connor said, crossing his arms over his chest and slumping further into his chair.

“Ah, come on,” Clint whined, pretending to grab for the rubbish without moving. “Help me out. I brought over a Mission Impossible film, we can watch it after we clean this up. I love action movies so I thought you might too.”

“I don’t even,” Connor yelled, suddenly jumping to his feet. “Why are you trying to make me do everything, I hate you.”

He didn’t stick around after that outburst, turning and stalking to his room and then slamming the door noisily behind himself. Clint stayed where he was for a second and then quietly finished tidying around the room. He knew he should leave it for Connor to get but that wouldn’t do Phil any good and Connor clearly wasn’t going to do it any time soon. Lacie’s cries had slowed to a sob so he took the trash can through to the kitchen when he was done. Phil was still leaning against the counter looking kind of beat and Lacie was still naked in the floor, though her tantruming had slowed. She was, however, now lying in a puddle of her own pee. Great.

“Any luck?” Phil asked, looking hopeful. Clint was a little ashamed when he had to shake his head.

“He’s gone to his room. Are they in school tomorrow? You should talk to the school, see if this is new or if they have anything in place for them.”

“Yeah,” Phil agreed. “If I can get them there.”

“I’ll help,” Clint promised. Lacie seemed to have lost interest now they were talking and had knelt up in her own mess, watching them. Phil sighed and Clint reached up to grip his shoulder. He was feeling kind of tired and he’d been here less than an hour - he could only imagine how Phil was feeling.

“You want to clean the floor or the baby?” Clint asked. Lacie grinned up at him.

“I don’t need cleaned,” she declared, wiping at herself. Great. He knew which the harder job was going to be. He could also see Phil steadying himself to take the fall.

“Stupid question,” he said before Phil could get up the strength to take the difficult job. “I’ll wash Lacie, you wash the floor.”

“I don’t wanna,” Lacie said, crossing her stick thin arms and grinning like this was some kind of winning argument. Maybe it had been in her life to this point, Clint didn’t know. Instead he just stepped forward quickly and caught her under her arms, pulling her up onto his hip. She squealed in delight and he tried not to look disgusted at the smell.

When he got to the bathroom he shut the door and engaged the lock. Better chances of getting Lacie clean if she couldn’t escape. Phil had clearly just finished bathing her and been in the process of putting her to bed when Clint’d arrived. Her pajamas were lying on the floor and everything was still damp. He quickly set the water running again and grabbed a towel.

“I just had a bath,” Lacie said, plonking herself down on the toilet seat. For a stick of a thing she certainly made her presence known. “Don’t need another.”

“That was before you peed yourself,” Clint said calmly, testing the water. It had been a long time since he bathed a kid but he figured this would do. “Now you’re all smelly. You don’t want to be smelly tomorrow at kindergarten, do you?”

“Yes,” Lacie shouted, throwing her arms in the air. “Then everyone runs away and I get all the toys.”

“Isn’t it nicer to share your toys with your friends?” Clint asked, watching the bath fill.

“No!” Lacie declared, rubbing at her belly. “I want the blue bike and the baby with the yellow hair.”

“Well, smelly little girls don’t get to use blue bikes so let’s get you cleaned up. Look,” he said, grabbing Phil’s shower gel. He poured a little under the flow of water and watched some bubbles form. Not quite as many as bubble bath but enough that Lacie gave a delighted squeal and abandoned rubbing her own pee into her skin in favor of climbing into the tub.

What happened next was a mess of splashing and bubbles flying and little girl giggles and squeals as Clint tried his best to get her clean and she tried her best to get water on everything in the room. Eventually he gave up on keeping himself dry and just scooped her out of the water in his t-shirt and set about towel drying her. He tickled her a little and apparently that distracted her enough for him to slide her into her pajamas so mission accomplished.

He settled her on his hip, condemning the bathroom as something to be taken care of later and headed out into the sitting room. Phil had apparently dealt with the kitchen if the strong smell of disinfectant was anything to go by and he was sat slumped on the couch looking more tired than Clint had seen him in a long time. When Clint came in Phil looked at them and then, eyes widening slightly, he did something that could only be described as checking Clint out. Clint glanced down at himself and, oh yeah, wet t-shirt contest with one entrant going on here. He blushed a little and set Lacie down on the floor.

“Alright,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

Apparently Lacie wasn’t opposed to getting ready for bed. Clint fed her warm milk and then let Phil take over, carrying her into the spare room where Connor was already curled up on the spare bed, grumbling in his sleep. Phil had put up a travel bed in the other half of the room and settled Lacie on it, taking the time to read her a story and kiss her goodnight. Clint watched from the doorway and, well, if he hadn’t been completely and irrevocably gone on Phil Coulson already that would probably do it for him.

It was common knowledge around S.H.I.E.L.D. that he wanted Phil. S.H.I.E.L.D. was, after all, a raging gossip machine. What the raging gossip machine didn’t know was that Phil knew and they’d talked about it. The talk had been mostly about how it was inappropriate given the position of power Phil had over Clint and Clint got that. He wouldn’t have been so attracted to Phil if Phil was the kind to throw over duty for quick gratification. But now…

Now Phil had a new team and Clint had a new team and Phil wasn’t actually in Clint’s line of command at all. Technically they were now on equal footing and maybe right now wasn’t the time to start something with two kids hanging around but Phil knelt there on the floor with his tie loose and his shirt sleeves rolled up reading quietly to his niece, that did something to the part of Clint that was invested in loving Phil, not just fucking him.

He slipped quietly out of the room and went to straighten the bathroom. It didn’t take as long as he had thought it would and by the time he came out Phil was waiting in the sitting room.

“So,” he said, flopping down on the couch. “What now?”

“Give it three more minutes,” Phil said, raising a finger. Clint paused. He waited. Apparently Phil needed him to wait for something so he waited.

He didn’t have to wait for the full three minutes.

The bedroom door opened and little footsteps started accompanied by a little giggle. Phil sighed like a man who’d been through this a million times. When Lacie emerged into the living room he went to pick her up. She ran away, he was quicker. He didn’t speak to her, just went and put her back in bed, shutting the door again and returned to the couch with a sigh.

“This happen a lot?” Clint asked.

“You’ll see. Or you can leave. I don’t actually expect you to sit here through how long this is going to take.”

“I can wait,” Clint said with a shrug. His t-shirt was still soaked anyway and he wasn’t convinced Phil even owned any t-shirts he could borrow to replace it. Better not to walk through the streets like this.

They put on an episode of Dog Cops and then Lacie appeared again.

About the sixth time she appeared Clint started trading off with Phil on who got up to put her back under the covers. About the twelfth time she started crying and trying to hit them instead of giggling when they went to put her back. Some indeterminate time later she bit him when he went to pick her up. It was past midnight by the time she finally exhausted herself.

“She does this every night?” Clint asked, voice low. He was still watching the door wearily though he’d checked it and she was definitely asleep.

“Yes. She does nap in the afternoon but I’d prefer if she slept through the night instead.”

“Damn,” Clint said with a sigh. “Look, you mind if I crash on your couch tonight? Tomorrow we can get them to school and then talk about what comes next.”

“Alright,” Phil said, standing and stretching. “I’ll bring you some blankets.”

An hour after he’d fallen asleep Clint was woken by the kitchen light coming on. He looked up to see Connor poking about in the fridge. It was going to be a very long night.

***

Clint didn’t quite understand how Lacie managed to be so enthusiastic about life while he was so exhausted. Mind you, when she’d finally given in to sleep she’d stayed there until he’d pulled her out of bed for breakfast. He’d been up for an hour when he finally got her moving. 

Somehow it had been decided that instead of making one big trip to school, Clint would take Lacie and Phil would take Connor. He didn’t mind that, though it had meant taking Lacie on the bus as he didn't own a car. He lived in Stark Tower, when he wanted to drive somewhere he borrowed one of Tony’s cars but he wasn’t going to take Lacie there to pick one up. He could only imagine what the Avengers would think if he showed up on their doorstep with a kid. No car meant a long trip on public transport which Lacie spent serenading him with every nursery rhyme she knew.

It was kind of sweet, honestly, but just a little grating to his tired mind. He’d rather she’d quietly sat there but at least she wasn’t screaming.

Lacie’s family lived in a bad area, pretty predictably, but once they got of the street her kindergarten seemed like a nice place. Colorful and welcoming and there was a nice lady waiting to meet them with a smile.

“Hello, Lacie,” the lady said, taking the little girl’s coat. “Are you going to have a good day today?”

“I want the blue bike,” Lacie said, and Clint kind of wanted to see this blue bike since apparently it was the best thing in the world.

“We’ll see,” the lady said, standing up and smiling at Clint. “Hey, I’m Talacia. You are?”

“Clint,” Clint said, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand. “I’m a friend of Phil’s, Lacie’s uncle.”

“Oh yes, we’ve met Phil a few times now,” Talacia said. “How is he coping with them? The seems so stressed every time he comes in here. I mean, not that we’re judging or anything but…”

“Lacie's kind of a handful,” Clint said with a helpless shrug. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her climbing up on some shelving but one of the other staff members seemed to be on it already. “I mean, I only found out about the situation last night. Phil likes to cope on his own. I, by contract, am not against asking for help. We were just wondering if you had anything in place for Lacie?”

“We do,” Talacia said brightly. “We gave her mom a reward chart but she never seemed to care about it. I think she really struggled with them. I hope she's getting a break. I mean, what happened isn’t great but I hope wherever she is she’s getting a rest, you know.”

“I know,” Clint said. He didn’t, not really. Couldn’t imagine what would bring someone to abandon a kid like Lacie. Sure, she was a handful but she still giggled in the bath and sang songs for him and…well, he’d only had her for less than a day so he probably shouldn’t judge but she seemed cute as anything if a little hard work.

“I’ll get a chart printed for you and hand it over when you come pick her up,” Talacia said. “The main thing, though, is that you’re firm with her and you mean what you say. She struggles following rules, really. You’ve got to kind of make her. We try our best here but there’s only so much you can do when it’s not being reinforced at home...” she trailed off as though afraid she'd said too much.

“Don’t worry,” Clint said, watching the staff member remove Lacie from the shelving for a second time. “We’re going to try our best with her.”

***

Predictably, by the time Clint made it back to the apartment Phil was already there napping on the couch. Clint stopped to watch for a minute. He was only human, after all. It was intensely obvious that neither of them were going into work today so he might as well spend some of his time looking. Phil looked stressed even in his sleep, his brow furrowed, and Clint wanted to lean in and kiss all that worry away.

Not that he had a way to take all the worry away. Not that kissing Phil would improve anything. Well, it would for Clint for the moment but not for them in the bigger sense. If he really wanted to make things better for Phil, kissing wasn’t the way to go about it.

Instead he took himself quietly away to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee and phoned Skye. She picked up on the third ring.

“Did you find him?”

“Yep,” Clint said quietly. He liked Skye, she was a good kid. They’d only met a few times with Phil’s crazy flying-around-the-world schedule but she seemed to be good for Phil and Clint liked that in a person. “He’s fine. Not ill. It’s a family thing.”

“A family thing?” Skye asked, voice clearly incredulous. “I didn’t even think he had a family. Aren’t his parents dead?”

“Yeah, but he has a sister.” Clint wasn’t sure how much Phil would want him to admit but from what he knew about Skye she’d end up finding out what she wanted to in the end anyway so it was probably better to be truthful with her from the start. “They’re not close. I’ve never met her but she’s gone AWOL without her kids so Phil’s kind of playing babysitter.”

There was a pause while Skye digested that and then she burst into laughter. Clint rolled his eyes and waited for her to stop. He knew it was pretty ridiculous. Phil was the last person in the world he’d expect to be landed with this. He was a company man and Clint knew from late night conversations in safe houses that he’d given up any hope of a family years ago. But, all the same, he was here and he was trying. That hat to mean something.

Clint didn’t know what they were going to do if the kids' mother didn’t reappear pretty soon but he didn’t want to think too closely on that one. They’d cross that line when they came to it. It wasn’t his decision anyway.

“Alright,” Skye said, finally catching her breath enough to speak again. “Alright. I’m telling Melinda and we’re flying down there right now because, I swear, I have to see this. Tell me there’s a baby. Tell me it’s drooling on him and he doesn’t know what to do.”

“The kids are four and ten, sorry,” Clint said, not sorry at all. Skye could get her laughs somewhere else. He thought it was cute. “You should come down, though. He can use all the help he can get.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Skye promised. “Look after him, Hawkeye.”

“Will do.”

He hung up with a smile. The ending of the call was an old promise dating back to the first time they’d met and he’d ended up tentatively inviting her to the ‘people who give a damn about Phil Coulson and would like to see him live for a long time’ club. Clint and Nat had been the only members for a long time so it was nice to have some new blood. It mostly consisted of bringing Phil food when he locked himself in his office for days and forgot to eat and trying to talk him into sleeping every so often. Skye was a good member.

“Who were you talking to?”

Clint looked up to find Phil in the door watching him. Clint shrugged and put the phone down. No point lying.

“Skye,” he said. “She was worried when you took off. She's the reason I’m here.”

“I wish you’d stop conspiring with her,” Phil grumbled but there was no heart in it. Clint just shrugged and poured them both cups of coffee. Phil took his then went to sit at the kitchen table. For a few minutes they shared a comfortable silence as they drank and then Phil put his cup down and the serious work began.

“Alright,” he said. “This is what I know. My sister was less than mother of the year. She’s…she tried her best. The guy from children’s services called this a cry for help, I hope that’s all it is. Connor’s got problems with authority, and men. I think his relationship with his dad’s pretty messed up. When my sister was with his dad they seemed pretty stable. Well, for her. I remember visiting Connor when he was a baby but then his dad cheated and my sister moved to Chicago. We more or less lost touch. Phone calls now and then. I didn’t even know she was back in New York until I got the call to tell me she was missing.”

“That sucks,” Clint said. He could empathize with shitty sibling stories. He had enough of his own to write a book and he knew that Phil and his sister were fundamentally very different people and had never gotten along.

“Either way,” Phil said with a shrug. “I haven’t seen Connor since he was a baby. I knew Lacie existed but I’ve never met her so this has been a bit of a shock for all of us. I don’t…I don’t know how Carol parented them but they don’t seem very…”

“I know,” Clint said, sparing Phil the need to find words. “But we can help them. I mean, if you want to. I guess the easiest thing would be to just let them do what they want for the few days until they go somewhere more suitable…”

“Easiest, yeah,” Phil agreed. “But they’re my family, even if I don’t know them. I know we can’t do a lot in a few days but I want them to…I don’t know. I want to try.”

“Understandable,” Clint said. “And, to that end, I was talking to the staff in Lacie's kindergarten. If their problems are with authority and rules, and it seems that way, the first thing we need to do is make the rules really clear. Like an op. They don’t know the mission parameters so you can’t expect them to follow them. So what I’d suggest is that when they get home we sit down and make rules for the house. Let them add to them, make them feel it’s their rules, and we all sign off on them and follow them.”

“I can see the logic in that,” Phil said. “Clarity can only make things easier.”

“Yep,” Clint said with a grin. “You just need to win them over. They’re good kids, Phil. Just good kids with hard lives. I know a little about what it’s like to be where they are now.”

“I know you do,” Phil said, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “And thank you for helping me. I’d be lost without you.”

“No problem,” Clint said with a laugh. “Any time. Now, can I suggest we both go sleep some more until it’s time to pick them up? I’m beat.”

“That’s a plan I can definitely agree with,” Phil said with a slow smile. “Though I mean it, you know. I know this isn’t nothing. These kids…they’re not easy. I have to take them, they’re family, but you don’t. You could go. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Clint said, rolling his eyes. “I’m not going to leave you here to struggle through this alone. I want to help.”

“I’m glad it’s you,” Phil said. “Now, come on. You can take the bed this time, I’ll take the couch.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Clint said with a roll of his eyes. “We’re napping. We can share the damn bed. Just don’t start snoring.”

“I make no promises,” Phil said with a strange little half smile but he followed Clint to the bed anyway and Clint counted that as a victory.

***

Three hours later Phil and Clint found themselves sat in the waiting room outside the principal’s office of Connor’s elementary school. Connor himself was not present, though the phone call that had dragged them both out of their much needed nap had assured them it was both important and urgent. Clint hadn’t even thought to ask if his presence was welcome until they were already in Phil's car and half way there and by then it was too late.

Honestly, he was kind of wishing he hadn’t come. The place wasn’t anything like the elementary schools he’d been to as a student but at the same time it was entirely like them. The hard chairs, the stern secretary typing away at her computer, the smell in the air. He couldn’t help but feel somehow that he was the one who’d been called in for doing something bad. It had happened to him often enough. Maybe that was why he felt a little affinity for Connor. He could see some of where the kid was coming from.

While Clint was kind of phased by the entire thing, Phil seemed soothed by it. He’d been on edge until they were seated to wait and then he'd relaxed, like this was something he could handle. Clint guessed it was. After all, how different could this be to the kind of negotiations he dealt with at work?

Clint wanted to reach over and take Phil’s hand. Wanted to let the touch reassure him thought he knew he didn’t need any reassurance, really. Though he knew it would be inappropriate on about every level. Didn’t stop him wanting.

“Hi,” a voice said from the doorway. Clint turned to see a plump Latin-American woman with a kind smile standing in the door. “I’m guessing one of you is Mr Coulson.”

“That would be me,” Phil said, standing quickly to shake her hand. “I’m Phil Coulson, this is my friend Clint Barton. You must be Principal Medina.”

“I am indeed,” the lady said with a smile. “Though you can call me Emilia. Come through, Connor’s with the nurture team right now and I think we should have a little talk before we bring him in.”

She bustled through into her office and Clint stood and followed behind Phil, feeling a little less like a naughty kid. None of his principals had ever been as smiley as Emilia Medina, that much was sure. The inside of her office was a riot of colour with children’s work pinned up all over the walls, further shaking him from his reminiscence. He sank into a soft chair next to Phil while she pulled out a file.

“Now,” she said, leafing through the pages. “I’ve been talking to Melissa at children’s services and she told me that you’re going to be Connor’s interim guardian until they can work out what’s going on with his mom, so before we get to today I want to bring you up to date with a few things, is that alright?”

“That'd be very welcome, actually,” Phil said. “I tried to talk to someone when I dropped him off but was told to call back later. I feel like we’ve been a little in the dark with him.”

“That’s understandable,” she read reassuringly. “He’s a tough kid. We’ve been working with him for a few years but the last six months have been particularly challenging. Let me tell you what we have. Connor…he struggles. He has issues with reading and with writing and, honestly, with math. You probably haven’t been doing work with him at home to see but we have him in several booster groups and he’s not catching up to where we’d expect him to be at this grade. He’s more at the level we’d expect from a 6 or 7 year old.”

Phil nodded solemnly like he’d expected that news and Clint just kept his mouth shut. He knew full well that when they’d tested him at Connor’s age he’d been below average too. It might mean something but it didn’t have to.

“Now, we think some of that is to do with him not being in education when he was in Chicago, something Mom admitted to. Some of it’s to do with the fact that he’s struggling emotionally. We have been aware of this for some time and Mom’s been coming in for sessions with our team but they haven’t been making the progress we’d hoped. Do you know your sister well, Phil?”

“No,” Phil admitted. “We were never close, too different in personality. I got a phone call from her around Christmas but she didn’t mention anything wrong.”

“She struggled accepting help,” Emilia said, leaning forward. “Though we tried. We’re hoping that this is a cry for help and that when she comes back we can get her some real mediation to improve the life of her and her kids, but for now there’s not much we can do. What I need you to take away though, is that Connor is emotionally troubled and behind in his work which upsets him more. He sees himself in a very negative light and we’re fighting to find the thing he’s a star at but we’re not there yet.”

“I’ve noticed some of that,” Phil admitted. “When he talks about himself he’s very negative and he seems very resistant to being told what to do…”

“He doesn’t like male authority figures. We think it’s something to do with dad but, honestly, Mom and Connor haven’t volunteered. We know dad’s been in and out of the picture for years - I think Connor sees himself as the man of the house and he’s struggling to protect Mom and Sister. It’s a big responsibility for a ten year old.”

“I’ll say,” Clint muttered.

“We appreciate your honesty,” Phil said. “He’s not going to be with us for long but we’d welcome any ideas you have to help him.”

“Oh, we’ve got some ideas. If you have the time after we talk to Connor I can send you up with the nurture team and they can give you some tools but, for now, would you mind if we bring Connor in? He’s been pretending to be a mountain lion all morning and running around the school growling at people. He might appreciate a little attention.”

“Of course,” Phil said, doing his best ‘I’m not shocked’ face. “Bring him in.”

“I’ll go collect him,” Emilia said with a smile and then they were alone in the office and Phil stopped trying with the expression. Clint finally lost the fight to keep his hands to himself and reached over, taking Phil’s hand in his. Phil returned the touch quickly, squeezing Clint’s hand and making Clint glad he’d initiated it.

“What am I doing?” Phil asked, leaning forward a little. “I’m not…these kids, Clint. They need so much and how the hell am I meant to help them?”

“You’re helping them just by taking them in,” Clint reassured him. “Trust me, when you have almost nobody in your corner, even one person makes a difference. Connor might not believe you’re in his corner yet but that’ll change with time.”

“I don’t have time, though,” Phil said with a sigh. “I just…maybe they should be with a foster family who knows how to deal with these kinds of issues.”

“You want to send them away?” Clint asked. Phil shook his head quickly.

“Not send them away. Get them some help.”

“They won’t see it that way. Connor especially. Mom’s just rejected him. He feels like he’s worthless. You take him in and then send him away again a few days later and it’s only going to reinforce the worst he thinks about himself. I’m sorry, Phil. I mean, you’re struggling to cope and I’m not going to judge but if you care about these kids even a little…”

“I do care about them,” Phil said with a sigh. “Damnit but I do. They’re trouble but… You’re right. I need to stick with it until Carol comes back.”

“You can do it,” Clint said, making the words into a promise. “Besides, you’re not alone. I’m here too and, together, we’ve faced crap a lot harder than this.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Phil said, but he was looking more level. “Drug lords I can deal with but children…”

“Don’t give me that or I’ll go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and tell them their resident badass was defeated by a ten year old. Skye’ll never let you live it down.”

“No, she won’t,” Phil agreed. Then the door was opening and Connor was coming in with his head down and his hands in his pockets and Clint took his own hand back reluctantly as they set about trying to work out why Connor had thought it would be a good idea to pretend to be a mountain lion instead of doing his work.

***

“I want to go to Zack’s house.”

“Not tonight,” Phil said, calmly, for the twelfth time. Clint was seriously beginning to wonder how he was keeping his cool with Connor pestering him so much. “Tonight we’re having family time.”

“It’s going to be fun,” Clint insisted, adjusting his grip on Lacie who was hanging from his hip and taking great joy in seeing how far she could lean back before he dropped her. Luckily for her, he was pretty strong.

“Whatever,” Connor grumbled, dragging his feet as they came out of the stairwell and into the corridor. Phil was leading the way to his apartment, Clint bringing up the rear. “Is this because of the police? Because it wasn’t even my fault. Anthony dared me to beat that other kid up so it’s his fault.”

“I’m not even going there,” Phil said with a tired sigh. “It’s not anything to do with the police. I just want to spend time with you.”

“If it’s family time why’s he here?” Lacie asked, digging her finger into Clint’s cheek. Clint caught her hand and pulled it away but she just twisted out of his grip and went right back to poking him.

“Yeah,” Connor said, looking back at him suspiciously. “He’s not family.”

“He is for now,” Phil said, unlocking his door and kicking it open. “And he’s staying over to help me for a few days until your mom comes back.”

“Mom’s not ever coming back,” Connor grumbled, slumping past Phil into the apartment.

“Where is Mommy?” Lacie asked, swinging back again and nearly making Clint drop her. “I want my mommy!”

“We don’t know where she is,” Clint said, pulling her back upright. She giggled and clutched at his shirt like it was all a giant game. It probably was for her. At least she was giggling and not crying.

“She’s run away,” Connor shouted from the kitchen. “Because Lacie keeps peeing her panties.”

“Yay!” Lacie shouted. Clint put her down quickly in case she took that as inspiration but she seemed to be holding herself for now. Apparently she’d gone the entire day without wetting herself so far and apparently that was something that warranted a big sticker.

Phil was holding a bag full of sticker charts and advice leaflets from the school and the kindergarten. He was also looking worn thin again.

“Right,” Clint said, deciding to direct matters for now. “We need a family talk. That means everyone around the table.”

“Do we have to?” Connor asked even as Lacie scrambled over and began climbing up into a chair. Phil didn’t seem to want to dignify that with an answer so Clint let it hang too, heading through to Phil’s home office and retrieving a sheet of paper and some pens. When he came back the other three were already at the table; Phil sat like he was waiting for a mission briefing, Connor slumped like he’d rather be anywhere but here and Lacie stood on her chair looking over them. Clint took the last seat and set a piece of paper in front of him, neatly writing 'house rules' across the top.

“Okay,” Phil said. “Me and Clint have been taking and we decided that while you’re living here we want to make some rules for the house to help us all know how to live together.”

“Phil’s been living alone for a long time,” Clint joked. “He needs a little help.”

“Whatever,” Connor grumbled, clearly not buying into it. “Can the rule be nobody tells Connor what to do?”

“That wouldn’t be safe,” Phil said, gently. “My job right now is to keep you safe so sometimes I have to tell you what do it.”

“I have a rule,” Lacie announced before Connor could respond to that. “Always ice cream.”

“You’d get bored if we just had ice cream all the time,” Clint said. She giggled. “How about only do things that won’t hurt other people.”

“Good one,” Lacie said, nodding seriously. “Like don’t kick.”

“Or don’t say unkind things,” Phil supplied. “Say nice things instead.”

“That’s stupid,” Connor grumbled. “You’ll still say bad things about me.”

“We won’t,” Clint insisted. “We’re going to agree to do the rules too. Will you sign it if I do?”

“I’ll sign it if Uncle Phil does.”

“I’ll sign it,” Phil agreed. “So, first one is only do things…”

“That won’t hurt others,” Clint finished, watching Phil write down the rule.

“My rule,” Lacie said, leaning over to grab a pen. “Is that you don’t break things!”

“That’s a really good rule, Lacie,” Phil said, smiling at her. She beamed back at him like he’d actually offered her ice cream every meal. “Let’s say…take care of our own and other people’s things.”

“So you can’t break our things,” Connor clarified. He’d slumped further down but the set of his shoulders was less defiant now and he was clearly listening.

“Yep,” Clint agreed. “Not even if we get angry or upset.” He knew what it was like to live with someone who got angry. He didn’t know if Connor knew that too but he thought it better to cover the bases.

“Cool,” Connor mumbled and that was probably the single most positive thing Clint had heard out of him since they met.

“Alright,” Phil said. “I’d like to add a rule. I’d like to add ‘always do what Clint or Phil say first time’”.

“That’s not fair,” Connor said, instantly surging up in his chair. “That rule's only for me and Lacie.”

“No, it’s not,” Phil said, writing it out and Clint kind of wished he’d waited for them all to agree before adding it but he wasn’t going to fight about that now. “Because Clint can tell me to do something and I have to do it. Or I could tell Clint something and Clint would do it because he knows I’d only tell him to do something if it was best for him.”

“That’s true,” Clint agreed. “Like, something might be going to spill on me and I haven’t seen it.”

“Whatever,” Connor said, though the aggression was gone from his face. “My rule now.”

“That seems fair,” Phil said. “Though we have to agree.”

“My rule,” Connor said. “Is that you both have to be here to tuck us into bed every night.”

Clint looked over at Phil. Phil looked back at him. It was actually a pretty big ask with their jobs but Clint knew the place it was coming from. Connor was, under it all, a frightened little boy who was scared of losing everyone and his mom had just walked out on him. Of course he’d want a promise of security and, well, it was only for a few days. He nodded at Phil and Phil smiled back before writing the rule down. Once he was done they passed the paper around and each of them signed it and then Phil took it and fastened it to the fridge with a Captain America magnet. Clint tried not to let the fact that he’d just signed up to a set of family rules with Phil mean too much to him. It was only for the kids, after all.

“Alright,” Phil said, looking them over and smiling. “Would anyone like to help me cook diner?”

***

Clint set the last cleaned and dried dish into the cupboard and let out a breath. The house was quiet other than the TV in the living room. Both Connor and Lacie had helped with making dinner - Lacie with both more enthusiasm and more destruction than Connor. The meal had been edible. They’d all eaten it together and now Phil was sprawled on one end of the couch with Lacie in his lap watching Toy Story, Connor curled up at the other end.

It was almost peaceful. He should have known it’d be too good to be true.

The knock at the door had Lacie sitting up from where she’d been leaning against Phil to peer over the back of the seat and Connor curling in on himself and readopting that suspicious look that had fallen from his face in the last few hours. Before Phil could free himself of the couch Clint passed him and went to get the door.

Outside stood Phil’s team. He let out a breath. Phil’s team could be trusted.

“Hey,” Skye said, stepping past him before she was invited. “Clint phoned us to let us know what was happening. Thought we’d drop in and see you.”

Simmons came in quickly after her with May entering at a more sedate pace. Fitz hung back at the door. They’d apparently left Ward guarding the bus which was good. Clint couldn’t stand that asshole.

“You didn’t need to come,” Phil said, but he looked secretly pleased to see them, settling back into the couch. “You can come in and sit down.”

“No,” Lacie said loudly. They all stopped, looking at her. Skye was the first to move, walking over and smiling.

“Hey, sweetie. We just came to say hello.”

“NO,” Lacie shouted this time, flailing out her tiny arms in an attempt to hit Skye. “NO NO NO! GET OUT!”

“Look, maybe you should just…” Clint started, but before he could stand a chance of defusing the situation Lacie escalated into a full blown temper tantrum, throwing herself of the couch onto the floor and screaming, little legs kicking and arms flailing.

Phil stood quickly and lifted her, carrying her into the kitchen - presumably so if she did decide bladder control was for losers she’d not ruin the carpet.

“Maybe we should come back tomorrow,” May said as though there wasn’t a screaming kid in the next room.

“Maybe,” Clint agreed because, yeah, they should very much come back tomorrow. Or never if Lacie was going to act like that.

“We’re sorry,” Simmons said quickly, eyes fixed on the kitchen door. “We didn’t mean…”

“You’ve already ruined everything,” Connor shouted, uncurling himself from the couch and springing to his feet in a move that was surprisingly graceful. “Just go away!” With that he was storming down the hall and slamming the door to the bedroom, the noise of which only made Lacie scream louder.

“Yeah,” Clint said, looking around at Phil’s team who seemed pretty shocked by these events. “Look, I know you came here for good reasons but it turns out Phil’s niece and nephew are kind of mixed up. Look, getting them out of the house tomorrow is probably the plan. I’ll phone Skye in the morning and we’ll see if we can meet outside somewhere where it’s not as scary for them, alright?”

“Yes,” Fitz said, already backing out of the door. “That sounds like an awesome plan. Jemma…”

“Yes, I’m coming,” Simmons said, ducking out of the door after him. “I really am sorry.” The other two left with grumbled sorrys too and Clint shut the door behind them and went to help Phil with calming Lacie down, wondering where his peaceful evening had gone.

***

Clint shut the door with all the stealth that years of working as a spy had hammered into him. He crept down the hall so quietly that even Nat wouldn’t have known he was coming. Phil certainly didn’t hear, though he was half asleep so that wasn’t really a victory. In fact, Phil didn’t look up until Clint gently lowered himself onto the other end of the sofa.

“She’s sleeping,” he whispered, and Phil gave the most wonderful smile. It was almost enough to make the last few hours worth it.

“Finally,” Phil sighed, head flopping back onto the armrest. He was laid out across the couch looking more exhausted than Clint had seen him in years. Not that Clint had exactly seen enough of him recently but…

“Hey,” he said, distracting himself by leaning over and poking Phil in the side. “It’s 1:30 in the morning but we won the battle. You should head to bed.”

“Yeah, no,” Phil said, shifting a little. “I’m fine here and it’s definitely your turn for the bed.”

“Yeah, no,” Clint echoed with an eye roll. “You’re being an ass again. You own a double bed. There are two of us. We can share a goddamn bed, Phil. We already did earlier.

“Different through the day and at night,” Phil said with a shrug.

“Being an ass,” Clint grumbled pulling himself up off the couch. He reached for Phil and grabbed his hands, pulling him up to. Phil let himself be pulled, stretching when he stood. “I swear I can keep my hands to myself so stop being such an idiot and come sleep on the bed.”

“Wait,” Phil said, grabbing Clint’s arms. Clint hadn’t expected the move so he stopped. “You really think that’s what this is about?”

“Well, not really,” Clint said. “But, kind of? I mean, my feelings for you being inappropriate. I know it’s not appropriate for me and you to do anything, we’ve had that talk so I’m not going to go around throwing out your feelings and doing what I like just because is what I’m saying."

“Clint, we had that conversation four years ago,” Phil said, looking put out and Clint could only shrug because, so what? Sure, things had changed but Phil had never shown any inclination to come back to the conversation.

“You never brought it up again.”

“Well, no,” Phil said with a frown. “It was a long time ago. And then things changed but, well, I could hardly expect you to still be interested. And, well, technically it’s still against regulation but I don’t think those regulations were written for an Avenger and a senior Agent. But I’m not having this conversation now, I just want to sleep.”

“No,” Clint said, grabbing on to Phil. “We’re having this conversation now. I know I suck but…you’re saying that since things are different now you’d give me a chance?”

“There isn’t a conflict of interest,” Phil said slowly. “And, well, you’re a very attractive man in a variety of ways. It wouldn’t be easy for us with my traveling.”

“Nothing worth doing is ever easy,” Clint said with the conviction of someone who’d learnt that through hard work. “But, Phil, you can’t mess me around with this. I’ve been waiting for you for years. You need to be sure, if we try, that we’re going to really try.”

“I don’t make commitments and not follow through on them,” Phil said, and Clint couldn’t help but grinning because, yeah, they were doing this. Only Phil was right about one thing. Not right now.

“Alright,” he said, squeezing Phil’s arm where he’d gripped it. “Alright. We’re going to go to bed for now, alright. We’re going to sleep on it and tomorrow we’ll talk it out. You’re right about us being too tired right now.”

“Tomorrow,” Phil agreed. “Now come on, we need to get some sleep. I get the feeling tomorrow’s going to be pretty rough.”

***

“UNCLE PHIL I MESSED THE BED.”

Clint let his eyes slide open slowly. Next to him, Phil was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. His expression was desolate. Clint knew exactly how he was feeling. He rolled onto his back with a moan and looked over at the clock. 6am. Could be worse. Could be so much worse.

“It’s alright,” he grumbled, rolling back over. “I’ll go. You try to go back to sleep.”

“You don’t have to…” Phil started but Clint darted in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and Phil fell silent. The frown on Phil’s face did, though, slowly transform to a small smile. Clint would have lent over and kissed him properly right then but there was a pounding on the door and another tiny cry.

He rolled out of bed, grabbed Phil’s robe and went and opened the door. Lacie looked surprised to see him for a second and then decided to get down to business, presumably in case he hadn’t heard her yelling.

“I messed the bed, Clint.”

“I heard you,” Clint said, nudging her away from the door. She looked like she had. She’d lost her pj bottoms but there was a distinct odor to her and her skin was wet. Great. He was getting really tired of cleaning pee off this child. “Let’s go see.”

Connor was sat up in his bed with his DS and he glared at them in disgust when they came in. The entire room reeked.

“Hey, Connor,” he said, moving over to poke at Lacie’s sheets. “Look, let’s grab your blankets and you can go get a little more sleep on the couch. I’ll take care of Lacie.”

“Whatever,” Connor grumbled, but he did stand and help Clint gather his sheets. Lacie grabbed a pillow and trailed behind them as they set up the couch for Connor to sleep on. He didn’t seem to want to sleep, going back to the console once Clint had tucked him in, but they’d tried.

Back in the bedroom Clint stripped the camping bed Lacie had been using and rolled up the sheets. At least the thing didn’t have a mattress, being in the old style with a metal stand with cloth stretched between two poles. He could sponge it down.

He was starting to envy Tony. He wished he could pay someone to come and do these things for him.

Sheets in the wash, he herded Lacie into the bathroom and ran her a bath. She refused to get in until he made bubbles and, honestly, it was too early to argue so he added a little more of Phil’s shower gel and let her go to town.

Once she was done he dressed her in her pj top again and dumped her on Connor’s mattress while he sponged down her bed. By the time he was done with that she was fast asleep and he was wide awake which sucked so much. He’d gone longer on less sleep, of course, but he’d never enjoyed it.

After watching her breath for a few minutes he gave in and went back to Phil’s room. It wasn’t creepy really, though he knew he wouldn’t sleep. There were people sleeping in every room so why not curl up for a few hours next to Phil. It would only be creepy if he spent that time staring which he wasn’t going to do. He let himself crawl into bed but he took his phone with him. He was going to find something fun for them to do. Something fun that didn’t involve any bodily fluid.

***

“Look, there’s Skye,” Clint said, pointing down to one of the benches lining the lake. It looked from this distance like she was messing with her phone thought it was hard to be sure through the press of bodies. Phil was giving him that long suffering look that clearly said he didn’t see because he didn’t see better from a distance but if Clint said it was true he’d go along with it.

“I want one of them,” Lacie declared, leaning off Clint’s hip in the opposite direction and pointing with her grubby stick-fingers. The booth she was pointing at was one of those rigged bottle things surrounded by brightly colored stuffed bears.

“Later,” Clint promised, pulling her up. “We’ve got to find the others first.”

When he’d seen the advert for the fair in a park not far from Phil’s apartment that morning in his trawling of the Internet it had seemed perfect. He still believed it was perfect. Even Connor hadn’t had a bad word to say about it. He’d even looked a little excited.

It had been Phil’s idea to call his team and Clint had been happy to do that. In his mind, the more people there were to share babysitting duty the better. Though, so far today, the kids had been great. Well, aside from Lacie’s bed/bathroom incident but he was trying not to think about that.

Connor was the first to strike off across the grass towards the bench, Phil trailing quickly after and Clint bringing up the rear. He was gratified when they got close enough to see that it was Skye and he hadn’t just been imagining things.

As they got closer Fitz and Simmons emerged from the crowd. Apparently they were the only ones who’d be joining them. Clint was pretty glad about that, May still kind of scared him. For the occasion Clint had spent some time rummaging in Phil’s clothes and unearthed a few t-shirts. He’d needed a spare since he’d not exactly turned up at Phil’s prepared for the long-haul. Both of the t-shirts he’d found were white. One of them had a kind of suspicious stain that meant it had probably either been used on a mission or in a kitchen accident so he’d forced Phil to wear that one (because, seriously, you couldn’t wear a suit and tie to a fair) and taken the other one himself.

He was aware it made them match a little. He didn’t get a little thrill from it at all. Really.

“Hey,” Skye said, standing up to meet them. Connor was staring up at her with big, besotted eyes and Clint wanted to laugh, he really did. He wondered what Skye would think of being replacement mommy for the day.

“Hello,” Phil said, obviously trying his best to look put together though he wasn’t dressed for it. He was failing and Clint couldn’t help but smile at him. Phil was a massive dork. His massive dork. He could claim that for real now because they’d started something. Maybe it was a small something just now but it was there.

“I didn’t even know you owned anything that wasn’t a suit,” Skye said, looking Phil over. As well as the t-shirt Clint had managed to find an old battered pair of jeans, obviously worn in Phil’s younger days when he’d still owned casual wear, but they still fit. Clint took it as a personal victory that Phil’d put them on. He was also wearing a cardigan, an honest to god cardigan. Clint didn’t even know where it had come from but at least it hid the stain. Phil looked frumpy and ridiculous and Clint KNEW that he was a lost cause because he STILL wanted to climb Phil like a tree.

“I own lots of things that aren’t suits,” Phil lied. “Are you sure you want to be here today? You don’t have to be.”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Simmons interrupted, bouncing on her toes a little as she looked around the place. Fitz looked like he didn’t agree. He looked like he very much thought they should have missed it but he didn’t say anything so Clint wasn’t going to say anything.

“Hey,” Connor said, holding his hand out for Skye to shake. Something in his attitude had changed when he’d seen her and, well, at least he probably wasn’t going to be their problem for the next few hours.

“Hey,” Skye said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. Lacie wiggled to be set down so Clint did, watching her closely as she ran over to have her hand shaken too. Phil took a step back so he and Clint were stood together, shoulders brushing.

“I vote we dump the kids and run for an hour.”

“Which kids, your relatives or your team?” Clint asked. Phil just rolled his eyes and Clint grinned back. He knew full well they wouldn’t be abandoning them but he wouldn’t mind letting Skye, Fitz and Simmons wear the kids out a bit and then maybe the kids would sleep and maybe Clint and Phil could have an actual conversation…

“Alright,” Skye said, apparently done with introductions. “A.C., we’ve gotta start by going on some rides.”

“I’m not going on rides,” Phil insisted, keeping his face blank through some kind of sorcery since Clint knew he was dying to wince at the idea.

“You guys can go on rides,” Clint offered. “We’ll hold the bags.”

“Oh, no way,” Skye said with a glint in her eye that promised trouble.

They all ended up going on rides. Once they got over the fact that some of them looked like they were more dangerous than an attacking alien fleet is was pretty fun. Plus, in the privacy of a ride seat Phil held his hand like they were horny teenagers on a date. It was kind of cute.

Connor latched on to Skye like she was the sun and he just wanted to bask in her glow. He was like a different kid which was equal parts sweet and creepy. Also handy in that they managed the entire trip without him stamping away from them which had been a worry in the planning stages. It probably also helped that they didn’t ask him to do anything he didn’t want to do.

Lacie seemed content to bask in any kind of attention anyone could give her. She did, though, attach herself to Fitz an awful lot. She’d probably sensed his weakness, Clint figured. Though if he was being more generous he’d have said she maybe noticed he wasn’t feeling included and was trying to make him feel better. Either way, she seemed to take to him an awful lot.

They rode rides, ate junk food and laughed. It was, all in all, a pleasant day. When they weren’t screaming and fighting it turned out that Phil’s niece and nephew were pretty decent kids. Connor could be sweet in a shy kind of way, surprisingly, and clearly just wanted some approval. Lacie was a bubbly little thing and seemed to enjoy making them all laugh. Clint almost didn’t want to leave.

Though, of course, he wasn’t saying that a day at home in bed with Phil wouldn’t have been a better use of his time.

Still, the day wound down. Lacie was flagging, clearly having missed her afternoon nap, and was turning fussy and even Connor seemed like he needed a rest. They decided to go eat together and then head home when, on the way out of the park, Clint spotted the stall Lacie had wanted a toy from on the way in.

He looked over to her, fidgeting in Phil’s arms (and damn but that was actually quite cute) and then glanced over at Connor. Connor was looking at the stall, clearly he’d remembered too.

“Hey,” Clint said, nudging Connor in the shoulder. “Wanna do something nice for your sister?”

“Yeah…” Connor said, biting his lip hesitantly. Before he could change his mind Clint looped an arm around his shoulder and lead him over to the stall. The others trailed after them, talking among themselves. Clint didn’t mind. He just kept thinking about what the people at Connor’s school had said about him trying to take care of people. It was a big responsibility at his age, particularly with his maturity level, but this Clint could help him with.

While they waited their turn it didn’t take much to work out that, yes, the game was rigged. He’d thought it would be. Three bottles stacked and you had to knock them all down. Bottom bottles weighted, a pretty standard trick. He knew the score. It was alright, he could work around that. When they got to the front he paid and took the balls, handing the first one to Connor.

“Alright, kid,” he said, squatting down next to him. “Here’s what you do. You’ve got to knock all three bottles over but don’t aim at the middle. That won’t work. You aim as hard as you can at the bottom. Can you do that?”

“Alright,” Connor said, looking uncertain.

“You can do it,” Clint promised. He’d make damn sure the kid did it. “Gotta look after your little sister, right?”

“I’ll try,” Connor said with a nod. He pulled back his arm and threw his first ball. It hit but not in the right place, knocking the top bottle and leaving the bottom two standing. Clint quickly corrected his stance and he threw again, hitting the right place this time but not hard enough. Clint placed the last ball in his hand and whispered some encouragement in his ear. He knew the kid could do this. There wasn’t a lot he could give but this…

Connor threw the ball. It sailed through the air and hit that perfect sweet spot. The bottles swayed. For a second Clint thought it wouldn’t be enough. He stood next to Connor, neither of them daring to breath. Slowly the bottles lost their fight with gravity, tumbling over backwards.

The crowd cheered. Sure, it was only a small crowd but Connor looked more pleased than Clint had ever seen him.

“Knew you could do it,” he said, squeezing the boy’s shoulder. Connor just smiled a secret little smile and didn’t comment, drifting back to Skye’s side as Phil brought Lacie up to choose which color of toy she wanted.

***

“Now this,” Clint whispered, backing out of the room, “is a miracle.”

Lacie was lying on the bed, sprawling might be more accurate, fast asleep. Connor was already snoring on the other bed, a few folded sheets of paper clutched to his chest. When they’d got back he’d insisted on making a thank you card for Skye and that had kept him occupied for the rest of the evening. He’d gone about it with kind of slow, methodical work that implied a lot of desire but not much skill to back it up. The card itself was bright, it nothing else, and would undoubtedly end up creased if he was sleeping with it but Clint was pretty sure Skye would appreciate it all the same.

Lacie had, on getting in, stayed awake just long enough for them to bathe her and dress her and then she’d been out like a light, clearly worn out from an entire day of excitement. She hadn’t moved since and Clint was quietly hoping she’d stay that way for a while yet.

“They’re not bad kids, really,” Phil said, watching them over Clint’s shoulder. Clint nodded. Sure, they were a handful but from what he could work out that hadn’t had much of a life so far. Maybe that would change now…

“What happens if their mom doesn’t come back?” he found himself asking. He’d been kind of circling the idea in his head for a while because while he didn’t want to think of these kids being properly abandoned it was a possibility. People went missing all the time, there was nothing to say she was going to come back.

“I honestly don’t know,” Phil said, slumping a little against Clint’s back. Clint reached up to find Phil's hand and squeeze it. He knew that feeling. He didn’t want these kids to lose more people but this…this was a holiday. A break from the reality of their lives. As much as he wanted to turn around and kiss Phil and make ridiculous promises about how they could do this together he was an Avenger. He’d been lucky but some day now there was going to be a threat to global security and he couldn’t say ‘sure, Cap, I’ll assemble as soon as the babysitter gets here’.

Phil was the same. As much as he’d taken a few days out for this, he had a job and that job involved flying around the world with his team. Clint wasn’t stressed about it because, honestly, the man had been dead. Any Phil time he got was a blessing but kids didn’t see it that way. He couldn’t take them with him, Clint knew he wouldn’t give up the job - couldn’t. It was as much as part of him as breathing.

He wasn’t sure where that left them but he and Phil weren’t parents, that was for sure.

“Come on,” he said, pushing Phil back a little so they could get out of the door. “I don’t want to think about it for now. Besides, I thought we were going to have a different conversation tonight.”

“You still want to talk about that?” Phil asked, squeezing Clint’s hands where their fingers were still laced together. Clint turned to look at Phil. No, he didn’t want to talk about it. They’d talked the entire thing to death years ago. Bow things had changed but they knew where they stood. He wanted to act on it.

Apparently Phil had the same ideas so when Clint lent in for a kiss Phil was already stepping into his space, pressing their foreheads together and then their lips and Clint KNEW they’d be good at this. Knew they’d fit together perfectly.

“We’ll have to be quiet,” he whispered, slipping his fingers through Phil’s belt loops.

“We’ll manage,” Phil said, and Clint couldn’t argue with that as he’d overcome almost any obstacle to get this man naked in bed with him now.

They stopped kissing in order to get to the bedroom quickly, not wanting to risk making too much noise until at least two doors were between them and the sleeping kids. Once the door was shut Clint didn’t waste any time in stripping out of his clothes and throwing himself down on the bed to wait. It took Phil a little longer to strip. He seemed to hesitate for a second over taking off his shirt but then he did, exposing his scars. Clint didn’t say anything - he didn’t need to.

Phil came to the bed and Clint met him eagerly, grabbing onto Phil as they came together. Phil smiling at him and then kissing him and it was perfect. It was everything he’d dreamed it would be, from the way Phil pressed him down into the mattress to the bit where he nearly fell off the bed and they both had to stifle giggles, to the feeling at Phil’s mouth on his cock and of Phil’s cock on his tongue.

Though the best part, undeniably, was lying there after, Phil plastered along his back, soaking in the afterglow. 

***

Lacie was making a good attempt to shatter glass with her screaming which was, all in all, not Clint’s favorite way to spend a Sunday morning. In a perfect world he’d still be in Phil’s bed right now making a start on round two but, given current reality, he was pretty glad that Lacie was only screaming and not starting in on another round of using the floor as a toilet. Connor was still quietly working on his card for Skye. It now had a little poem inside written in a very uncertain hand and riddled with spelling mistakes but no less heart-felt for it.

When Clint heard the doorbell he slipped out quickly, leaving Phil to deal with the screaming. He wasn’t being a coward. It was just that someone needed to answer the door and he was closest.

The person on the other side when he opened was holding an over-stuffed bag and papers and had a kind of air of slightly worn confidence and an ill-fitting suit. It didn’t take long to identify her as a social worker.

“Hello,” she said, blinking a little at him and, alright, Clint hadn’t exactly gotten around to putting a shirt on yet. It was early and he wasn’t perfect. “I’m looking for Mr Coulson? I’m from Child Protective Services…”

“Come in,” Clint said, stepping back with a grin. “Phil, someone here for you.”

“Of course it’s someone for me,” Phil said, emerging from the kitchen with a roll of his eyes. “My house, Barton. Who’s going to look for you here?”

“Someone might,” Clint grumbled, though he had to admit Phil had a point. Phil was also already dressed in a suit which really did make Clint look like a slob in his sweat pants. He was going to have to have a talk with Phil about why owning casual clothing was important.

“Hello,” the woman said, bustling past Clint to shake Phil’s hand.

“Ah, hello Ms Green,” Phil said, clearly recognizing the woman. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know,” she said with a little laugh. The laugh was almost flirty and Clint resisted the urge to go over and put his arm around Phil’s shoulders. It was alright, Phil was his anyway. Other people could appreciate him in a suit but Clint was the only one who got to suck his cock. “I’ve got some news, though, and I thought I’d share it in person.”

“Good news, I hope,” Phil said. Lacie’s screaming had died down and Clint crept back to the kitchen door to see that while she was still lying on the floor with tears in her eyes she was also listening carefully to what was being said.

“I hope so,” the woman beamed. “Your sister’s back. She called us this morning and one of our agents is currently with her. It seems that she regrets what she did and she’d like to take the children back.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Phil said, frowning. Clint could understand the sentiment, the woman had abandoned them once. He could also see the hope in Connor’s eyes and the cheeky grin that was breaking out on Lacie’s face at the thought of Mommy coming home.

“We’ll support her, of course,” the social worker said. “That’s why someone’s with her now. We’re going to make provision so this hopefully won’t happen again but apparently she’s very repentant. With some proper support there’s no reason they can’t go back to her.”

“Well, that’s good,” Phil said, though there was still a hint of uncertainty there. “Are you going to take the kids now?”

“No, I’m just going to talk to them for now and prepare them for the idea,” the woman said. “When mom’s ready she’ll come here and get them so you can see her. Would that be acceptable.”

“Sure,” Phil said, still not looking entirely convinced about the entire thing. Clint walked over and laced his fingers through Phil’s, giving his hand a squeeze.

“Hey, the kids are in the kitchen if you want a chat with them now,” Clint said, gesturing her out of the room. The woman took it as the dismissal it was and left the room quickly, shutting the kitchen door behind her. Clint lent into Phil a little more when she was gone.

“This is the best outcome,” he reminded Phil. “They get their mom back, we really can’t look after them long term.”

“I just worry,” Phil said with a shrug. “No matter what they say, they can’t fix things for her overnight. These kids, Clint…there’s so much going on with them. Maybe they’d be better away from her.”

“I kind of agree,” Clint admitted. He didn’t think for a moment Phil’s sister had physically hurt them but there was clearly a level of neglect there. “You’ve got to give her a chance to put it right, though. Social Services will probably be in there a lot until they’re sure she’s stable again. Or something approaching it. It’s a long journey for these kids whoever’s walking it with them but you’ve got to give their mom another chance.”

“I know,” Phil admitted with a sigh. “You are right. I just…”

“You worry,” Clint finished for him. “That’s alright. I worry about them too. Not really our choice, though.”

“No, I know,” Phil said, finally pulling away. “Come on, we’d better pack up their things if they’re going home. At least nothing of Lacie’s stinks of pee now.”

***

“MOMMY!”

Lacie’s deafening scream of glee would be enough to convince Clint they were doing the right thing here if the way her face had lit up like Christmas morning wasn’t. Phil’s sister, standing uncertainly in the doorway with her daughter hanging from her leg, didn’t look much like Phil at all. She was the same kind of stick thin as Lacie with huge brown eyes and messy hair. She was also short and pale and looked kind of like a woman at the end of her rope which, of course, they all knew she was.

There was something of Phil about her in the set of her jaw and in the way that, despite everything, she met everyone’s eyes as she knelt down to hug her daughter.

“Sorry,” she whispered, and Clint walked away then, giving her space to say what she needed to say with one less pair of ears at least. He found Connor still sat at the kitchen table, the card to Skye clutched in his hand.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down. “You want to leave that here? I’ll make sure Uncle Phil gives it to her.”

“Sure,” Connor said, though he didn’t let go. “Is Mom really staying this time?”

“Yes,” Clint said, trying to inject a certainty he didn’t feel into his voice. “She’s gonna be getting some help, too. Lots of help. You’re going to have to take care of Lacie for her but, look, kid, you don’t have to take care of your mom any more. She’s going to have people to help her. You focus on looking after you and Lacie.”

“What if she does something stupid?” Connor asked, fists clenching on the paper. “She keeps doing dumb things like cheating on her boyfriends and I try to get her to stop but she won’t.”

“That sucks,” Clint agreed. “One of the hard things you learn when you’re growing up is that you can’t stop other people making mistakes. Took me ages to learn it. I grew up with only me and my brother, no mom or dad, and for years I tried to stop my brother doing dumb things. But then I realised I couldn’t. The only person you can control is yourself really. So look after yourself. Try to take care of Lacie if you can and trust the social workers to help your mom.”

“What happens if I need help,” Connor said, looking up at Clint and he looked so damn scared. “Like if she goes again?”

“One second,” Clint said, standing and going to Phil’s office. He came back with a note card and scribbled his personal mobile number on it then handed it over. “Keep that safe. It’s only for emergencies but I always answer that phone.”

“Alright,” Connor said, he put down the card for Skye and took the note card, folding it up carefully and sliding it into the pocket of his jeans. “Sorry I yelled at you lots, you’re not that bad.”

“Thanks,” Clint said with a grin. “You’re not too bad yourself. Things get better, kid. You grow up and things will get easier. Just trust other people to help.”

“I’ll try,” Connor promised. “I’m going to go see my mom now.” And with that he was out of the room and gone.

***

“So, what’s next for us?” Phil asked. Clint groaned as, really, he’d just like to lie here and enjoy his afterglow if that wasn’t too much trouble. Also, wasn’t it a bit obvious what was next for them? Round three.

“What do you mean?” he managed to motivate himself to ask. Phil shifted, sat up, which deprived Clint of the weight he’d been really enjoying against his back. Since they’d come to this Clint forced himself to move too, sitting up in bed and flopping over so his head landed on Phil’s shoulder.

“I mean,” Phil said, curling an arm around Clint. “This is hardly going to work as we are, is it? I hardly ever see you.”

“Don’t care,” Clint grumbled. “There’s skype. You own a phone. We’ll get by.”

“Clint…”

“Phil…” Clint mimicked. He seriously couldn’t believe they were ruining his afterglow for this.

“I’m serious,” Phil said. “I mean, it’s alright to say this now but how long will it be before you decide I’m not worth the effort. Should we leave it as a weekend of madness or…”

“No,” Clint interrupted. “You know exactly how fucking long I have been waiting for you, Phil Coulson.” He sat back so he could meet Phil’s eye. Phil seemed reluctant but eventually gave Clint the eye contact he wanted. “I am utterly in love with you and you know I have been for years. If I can have this, even if this is only skype calls and a few hook-ups a year for now, I want it. I want any damn thing you can give me. We don’t know what’s coming in a month or a year or, hell, even tomorrow. You’ve already died on me once, you’re not running out on me again.”

“Alright,” Phil said, a soft smile curling his lips. He lent forward, bumping their foreheads together. “I just wanted to give you an out.”

“I don’t need an out,” Clint replied.

“I know that now,” Phil said. “And, for the record, neither do I.”

***

“Thanks for coming.”

Clint looked up from his drink to meet Carol’s eye. She was looking better than she had the first time he’d seen her by miles. She’d put weight on, lost some of the shadow under her eyes. She looked a lot more like a Coulson now. He might even identify her as Phil’s sister if he didn’t know her and they gave him a line-up.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he said. He didn’t get many invitations to 5th birthdays but the card in the post had specifically invited Phil and Clint so he couldn’t have said no even if he wanted to. Not that Lacie had paid him more than the tiniest bit of attention since he got here but he didn’t blame her for that. It wasn’t every day you turned five, she had a right to be distracted.

She was looking healthier too, and they were assured her wetting days were over. They’d taken her and Connor for a weekend a couple of months back to give Carol a few days and they’d both seemed a lot calmer, it was good on them.

“Connor wanted to see you,” Carol said, scanning the crowd in the community center for her son. He was sat laughing with a group of other boys his age. Relaxed back in a chair. He kept sneaking glances at his mom, though. Clearly he hadn’t quite given up on clinging yet though he seemed to be trying. Clint couldn’t blame the kid. Learning you can’t control others was one of the hardest things he’d had to go through.

“I like him,” he said. “He’s a good kid.”

“Thanks,” Carol said with a small smile. “You seem like a good guy, too. Seem to be good for Phil.”

“I hope so,” Clint replied. It was hard. Had been hard and would probably continue to be with the current state of work security and all but they were trying. They were forcing it to work mostly through the power of Clint not accepting any other possible outcome.

Carol smiled and slipped away into the crowd then and Clint scanned the area for Phil. It was harder to spot him when he wasn’t wearing a suit but Clint still counted the jeans and t-shirts that Phil now owned as a personal victory. A little proof that Phil now has a life outside work and that Clint was a part of it. When he did find him he slipped over and took Phil’s hand. Phil let him, dragging Clint back to the wall - away from the crowd that was forming around Lacie as they declared present opening time.

“Sorry you got dragged into this,” Phil whispered in his ear.

“Don’t be stupid,” Clint said with a roll of his eyes. “These kids kind of got us together. Least I can do it turn up at Lacie’s birthday.”

“I like to think we’d have worked it out eventually anyway,” Phil said, looking a little insulted. Clint just rolled his eyes because, yeah, maybe they would but not so quickly and, he suspected, not to such good effect.

“We should go watch her open presents,” he said, instead, though he made no move to get away from the wall.”

“We’ll hear her from here,” Phil said with a shrug. “And I was thinking when she’s done maybe we can slip away. She won’t notice we’re gone and, well, nobody’s expecting me back until Monday…”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Clint said, and then they were interrupted by the scream of a little girl who was very impressed with her birthday present.


End file.
